


The Perfect Snowball

by thatonewriterchick



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Exes, Family Feels, Fatherhood, Fluff, Gen, Guardian Training, Playing Hooky, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 21:57:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20514143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonewriterchick/pseuds/thatonewriterchick
Summary: Shaxx teaches Jun how to throw a proper grenade by teaching her how to throw a snowball.





	The Perfect Snowball

It arrived late in the night, a week before the Dawning; thick snow that blanketed the Last City. Shaxx tested the powdery ice as he approached his station, gathering a handful of it without breaking stride. He worked it in one hand as he booted his computer and double-checked the matches for the day.

By the time his updates began to trickle in, he’d finished forming the snow into a small, compact orb.

“Arcite, you’re in charge today,” he announced, setting his automated responses for the day. “Forward all comments, questions, and grievances to my account.”

“Understood.” The frame didn’t look up from his own monitor. “Enjoy your training.”

The Hardings lived on the veteran levels, just a few below the Vanguard. While he took the elevator to their floor, he wondered who would have to go through this time.

Rose was on the moon, tracking down a few Knights that had made the mistake of getting on the Vanguard’s radar. Who could she have chosen this time as Jun’s ward? So far he’d been able to use his rank and intimidation to weasel Jun out of the ridiculous tortures Rose thought would compel the child to obedience. 

So far, she’d yet to find anyone who could resist him.

Rapping his knuckles against their door, he mentally sifted through the possibilities.

The door opened and he felt like he’d been kicked in the gut.

Clever warlock, he thought with grudging respect as his ex crossed his arms over his broad chest and rested a shoulder in the door jam, a small, humorless smile touching his full mouth.

“I really wish I could say Rose was paranoid,” Gideon Gear murmured. “But I’m not at all surprised.”

Shaxx heaved a great sigh, realizing that perhaps to some degree he did deserve this. It was possible he had overstepped his boundaries as Jun’s mentor – at least in Rose’s eyes he had – but it was obvious the more Rose tried to rein the girl in, the more Jun acted out.

“Gideon,” he returned, taking a step closer.

The other titan responded by unfolding an arm and extending it, his fist touching Shaxx’s plated chest with surprising gentleness. “You know she’s grounded, Shaxx.”

“It’s a scheduled training exercise,” Shaxx told him. Which was technically true.

“Rose said no.” Gideon tucked his arm beneath the other, resting his head against the jam. “You already know that.”

“Do you really think staying cooped up studying Golden Age history is going to help Jun stop punching other children?”

The clench in Gideon’s jaw was telling. “We are not her parents, Shaxx.”

“I’m well aware. But that does not change anything.”

Gideon frowned at him. “It changes everything.”

This was going nowhere.

Shaxx reached up and touched the releases on his helm, pulling it free. Gideon’s gaze was wary as he straightened and cast surreptitious glances up and down the corridor. There was no one, of course, and quartermaster knew he’d made his point, besides; he was serious. “She has too much energy to be cooped up in a classroom. You’re not so old you don’t remember restlessness from before training, the need to use the Light.”

Gideon’s dark gaze was calculating and he didn’t speak for a long moment. “You should tell herself that you won’t be training today.” He turned and slipped back inside, leaving the door open.

Shaxx smirked as he stepped into the dormitory, the first step of his plan a success.

The living area was the same as the last time he’d been there, the tidy space decorated in New Monarchy’s crimson and gold accents.

Gideon was lowering himself to the couch, shoving a cushion aside. “Don’t go in yet,” he said as Shaxx began to move across the room. “You’re not supposed to interrupt the lessons.”

“Like a proper brainwashing,” Shaxx muttered, though he turned and moved to the bookshelves lining the room.

There was a holographic image of Caleb Thorton in a glass frame and Shaxx took a moment to take in the fallen Guardian. The man had been a titan, kind, competent, with infinite patience. He would’ve had to have been to deal with a controlling woman like Rose, he supposed.

Jun was a spitting image of her father, with the same rich chestnut curls, chocolate eyes and contagious smiles. Despite the two of them never meeting, she still had his stubbornness and sense of justice. It had been in defense of a fellow student that she’d broken her classmate’s nose. A single punch, precise and swift from what the school’s corridor cams had shown.

Caleb would have been proud of her – hell, Shaxx was. She’d ended the conflict with a single blow and had taken responsibility when the instructor arrived. Jun hadn’t made excuses or pleaded for mercy when Rose told her there would be punishment.

But two weeks was long enough.

He turned away from Caleb’s photo. “How’s married life?”

Gideon looked up from his tab, a dark brow raised. “Do you really want to do this?”

Not really, he hated small talk. But he had a mission. “Not in particular.”

The smile Gideon gave him was pleasant but didn’t reach his eyes. “Then please, don’t trouble yourself.”

Before Shaxx could say more, Jun appeared from the back of the door, looking sullen. “The vid is finished, Gear,” she announced. Her eyes moved to her mentor almost immediately and she lit up. “Shaxx!”

He knelt, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close as she crashed into him. “How are you, dreg?”

“I’m okay,” she said, looking up at him. There was a stubborn set to her jaw, but he could see she was miserable. “Are we training today?”

He gazed over her head to meet Gideon’s. The City-famous DJ had never been a cruel man, even after Shaxx had stomped all over his heart years ago. He could see the conflict in Gideon’s eyes even from across the room.

The other titan sighed and rolled his shoulders. “You have three vids to finish today, Jun,” he reminded her.

Shaxx watched her expression crumple for a moment before she lowered her head to save face. “It’s all right, dreg, we’ll reschedule.”

“Unless you can get it done in three hours,” Gideon added. “That’s all you can spare.”

Jun’s head shot up and she beamed at Gideon. “Really?”

“Really.” He grunted as she threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his torso as best she could.

“Thank you, Gear! Thank you, thank you!” She gave him a final squeeze before scrambling to the door. “Come on, Shaxx! We have training today!!”

Behind him, he heard the door hiss and her pounding footsteps retreating. Seconds later there was an alarmed cry, followed by Jun’s hasty apology before the door shut again.

“Thank you,” Shaxx murmured as Gideon rose, rolling his neck.

Gideon didn’t look at him. “I didn’t do it for you,” he murmured.

“Regardless,” Shaxx insisted. “You have my thanks.” He turned to track Jun down and rein her in.

“It’s amazing, by the way.”

The comment made Shaxx glance back. Gideon’s expression softened; and with early sunlight spilling on him, he looked softer, almost vulnerable. Like when they dated. “Married life.” His mouth quirked and there was a devilish glint in his eye. “Maybe you should try it.”

Shaxx donned his helm. “I don’t think I would like it half as much,” he said, gruff.

Long term commitment had always been difficult for him.

“With the right person, you would.” Gideon nodded toward the door. “Probably better catch her.”

“Probably.” Shaxx took his leave before Gideon asked which comment he agreed with.

“What are we doing today?” Jun shifted from foot to foot, the snow crunching beneath her boots. Iota had to transmat her an appropriate outfit since she ran away before Gideon could change his mind.

“Grenades.” Shaxx gestured to the small, enclosed courtyard. The living quarters were closed for renovations, but the weather had left the entire property empty. “This will serve for the first lesson.”

The girl’s eyes were wide with surprise and delight. “Live ones?”

“Not within City limits,” he reminded her. “What do you know about them?”

She blinked up at him. “You throw ‘em and run the other way.”

He snorted. “Basic. Anything else?”

“Guardians put Light in them.” She paused. “Well, some Guardians do.”

“Correct.” Shaxx braced his hands on his hips. “Grab some snow and let’s get started.”

He watched her gather too much, packing it together into a lumpy mess.

“Smooth it out with your Light.”

“What?” She looked up at him as if he’d spoken Eliksni.

Gathering up a handful of ice, he shaped it and opened his palm. Arc energy crawled over it, easing the bumps until it was a perfect sphere.

“Hm.” Jun eyed her own and then Shaxx’s before fixing a glare of concentration on the ice in her wooly palm.

Shaxx laughed when the snow exploded outward, splattering her startled face. “Too much Light,” he explained. “It’s a balance.”

She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “It was like a grenade, though.”

“Yes,” he agreed, gesturing to the snow for her to try again. “But you forgot to throw.”

It took almost an hour before the snowballs stopped exploding. They were a little lumpy, but for the sake of time, Shaxx moved to the next exercise.

“Hit the infant, Jun!”

“I’m _trying_!” The ball soared a couple of feet to the left of the poised cherub topping the fountain and she growled her frustration. “What is happening?!”

“You need to arc the grenade,” Shaxx reminded her.

“I did, it was definitely sparking!”

With a sigh, the quartermaster corrected, “Throw it _in_ an arc.”

“Oh…” She squinted at the cherub in suspicion. “Why didn’t you say so?”

He had at least twenty times, but he didn’t bother to answer.

The snowball cut a clean arc into the air, soaring over the statue entirely. “Stupid statue, why can’t I hit you?!”

“This isn’t working,” Mercy murmured without appearing.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Shaxx demanded.

“So try something else,” the Ghost suggested. “Before you drive her crazy.”

“It may be too late,” Shaxx mused. Jun had climbed onto the lip of the fountain and was pointing at the cherub’s serene face as she screamed how idiotic everything about it was.

“I…might have an idea,” the Ghost said with great hesitance.

“Tell me.”

“You only have twenty minutes left,” Mercy warned.

“That’s plenty of time.” Shaxx kept his voice low as he cut through one of the alleys between the buildings. He kept the last snowball at the ready, hovering above his hand and crackling with subtle arc energy.

It was an easy enough exercise; Jun had to hit him with one Light-filled snowball before he hit her five times. He’d pelted her four times and since then it had gotten quiet.

Solar energy concentrated at his feet melted the snow and muted his footfalls compared her own snow trampling. She had run back into the courtyard, judging from the ruckus she was making. 

All that running and squealing with her unceremonious dodges and perhaps she was getting tired and even sloppier.

Shaxx eased through one of the arching stone pathways and frowned at the courtyard. There was no snow anywhere. His gaze swept the ground, the fountain and ledges of the window sills. 

Even the branches were bare.

And then he heard a giggle. Soft, mischievous. From behind the massive tree standing over a bench in the back of the area.

Time to finish it.

Shaxx was grinning as he stalked across the space, keeping his steps slow and silent. Just as he reached the tree, he dropped the readied ball of Light into his palm, drawing it up and –

Iota, Jun’s Ghost hovered behind the trunk. “I am so sorry about this,” he said.

And then he transmatted a heap of snow onto the quartermaster.

While Shaxx took a moment to try to understand the futility of such a thing, a battle cry filled the courtyard. He twisted his head, the only thing not submerged in snow in time to see Jun standing on the stone cherub’s shoulders and then, a flash of white.

The impact was enough to make his head rock back, obscuring his vision for a moment.

Jun’s howl of victory was quite telling, however.

“Mercy.”

“Yup.” And then the snow was moved into a neat pile a few feet away.

Jun was clamoring down from her perch. “I did it! I got you!” Another round of howls as she pumped her fists and pranced around the lip of the fountain.

Shaxx’s long silence calmed her and she looked hesitant as she jumped down and approached him.

“It had Light in it, right?” She’d thrown plenty before that, but they either had missed or exploded in before reaching their mark.

“Yes.” He patted the top of her curls. “You were victorious!” Shaxx lifted her into his arms as she cheered again, throwing her arms around his neck.

Later, they could review their play battle. He would tell her about the importance of keeping her Ghost hidden, of not revealing herself before an attack.

But for now, he simply lifted her onto his shoulders and let her taste the sweetness of her victory.

**Author's Note:**

> More character studies for Shaxx; with Jun because I think the parental figure looks good on him and these studies are far easier than pharmacology. This installment is featuring another OC while I continue to build up a better picture of Shaxx. Hope it wasn't too lengthy and at least sort of entertaining - I had fun writing it. :D


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